Welcome to the IPMS/USA Reviews site!

Introduction: The primary organization of the IPMS/USA Review website is by IPMS/USA National Contest Class. Within each Class there are sub-menus by kits, decals, books, etc. The Miscellaneous Class is for items that are not class specific or that cross two or more classes.

IPMS/USA Members: We encourage you to submit reviews, both here and to the Journal. To volunteer for membership in the IPMS/USA "Reviewers Corps" and submit your own reviews, please read the Guidelines For Submitting Product Reviews.

Manufacturers, publishers, and other industry members: IPMS/USA is pleased to offer your company the opportunity for product reviews. All product reviews are performed by IPMS/USA members, and are posted in the publicly-accessible section of our website. With very few exceptions, we perform full build reviews of new kit releases, aftermarket products, and supplies. If you would care to provide product samples for review, please contact John Noack, IPMS/USA 1st VP.

To learn more about IPMS/USA, please see our About Us page.

Review Author
Rob Benson
Published on
November 24, 2016
Company
Hypersonic Models
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$10.00

Many thanks to Hypersonic Models and the IPMS Reviewer Corps for allowing me to review this excellent engine exhaust enhancement set for the EA-6B kits by Kinetic and Italeri. Hypersonic Models (HM) is a new contributor to the IPMS Reviewer system and is based in the UK, with a Facebook presence established 17 JUL 12. The operation is a one-man show, focused on well-researched products generated from quality CAD artwork and 3D- printed molds. HM has a specialty offering of modern-jet resin accessories, decals, canopy masks and reference drawings, with an X-15 emphasis.

Book Author(s)
Tom Cooper, David Nicolle, Lon Nordeen, Patricia Salti, and Martin Smisek
Review Author
Frank Landrus
Published on
November 24, 2016
Company
Harpia Publishing
MSRP
$64.95

Tom Cooper and David Nicolle's Arab MiG series is an incredible history that addresses the Arab air forces of Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen after the June 1967 Six Day War until 1973. Although MiG aircraft dominate the story, all Post-WWII Arab aircraft are included. The authors have been able to access official archives as well as the combatants involved to provide a unique perspective of the Middle East conflicts. Volume one in this series, published November 19, 2009, covered the background of the Arab air forces from 1955 focusing on MiG-15 and MiG-17 fighters. Volume two, published October 19, 2011, addressed the Arab air force supersonic fighters from 1956 through 1967. Volume three in the Arab MiGs series focuses on the Arab air forces in the June 1967 War and was published October 24, 2012. Two additional volumes follow in this series, all with the same thick 256 glossy page count.

Review Author
Mike Lamm
Published on
November 24, 2016
Company
Aerobonus
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$10.00

Aires Hobby Models provides a variety of high quality resin products to upgrade, or correct, a variety of models in the most popular scales. They also have a line of crew and pilot figures in 1/72nd, 1/48th and 1/32nd scale. These figures are relatively inexpensive, and make a nice addition to an aircraft diorama, or to add a better since of scale to a finished model.

Aerobonus’ latest offering is of a Soviet woman pilot wearing flight gear and a parachute. Women played an important role in the Soviet army during World War II, making up about 3% of the total Soviet military personnel. In addition to serving in medical and auxiliary roles, a great number of women flew as pilots, and fought as snipers, machine gunners, and in the armored forces. I don’t know of any other offerings of Soviet woman pilot figures, so this is a welcome addition recognizing an important group of individuals.

Review Author
Rob Benson
Published on
November 24, 2016
Company
Hypersonic Models
MSRP
$5.62

Many thanks to Hypersonic Models and the IPMS Reviewer Corps for allowing me to review this elegant fin tip correction part for the Hobby Boss A-6. Hypersonic Models (HM) is a new contributor to the IPMS Reviewer system and is based in the UK, with a Facebook presence established 17 JUL 12. The operation is a one-man show, focused on well-researched products generated from quality CAD artwork and 3D-printed molds. HM has specialty offerings of modern-jet resin accessories, decals, canopy masks and reference drawings, currently with an X-15 product line emphasis.

Review Author
Timothy Gidcumb
Published on
November 23, 2016
Company
Aires Hobby Models
MSRP
$3.54

Recently I was given the opportunity by IPMS USA to review Aires Messerschmitt Bf 109G Gun Barrels for the 1/48 Eduard 109G series of kits. One of the first things to notice with this product is the excellent presentation of the packaging with the sealed flap on the back of package to allow for easy access to parts.

The molding on the resin gun barrels is excellent and they come off of the resin block with little effort. You receive 2 sets in the packaging, one set is of the MG 151/20MM canon that was used on the Bf109G. The G series 109 was designed to accept a variety of field conversion sets that allowed the changes to be made in the field. These were numbered from R-1 to R-7 with the MG 151/20MM canon under each wing being labeled R-6. These barrels make a good addition to the Eduard 109G series although there is not much difference in the look of both the resin and the one provided in the kit.